Edinburgh’s Murrayfield ice rink has officially reopened to the public this weekend, and the happy site has brought a tear to one boy’s eye.
Two and a half years after they closed their doors due to the pandemic, Murrayfield Ice rink has reopened with a grand weekend filled with fun for everyone.
The Edinburgh Capitals were the first to play on the new ice Thursday night, and one of the players said it was a joy to be back on home ice.
However, one young ice lover was even more joyous.
Before the pandemic, 11 year old Rocco was at Murrayfield ice rink five days a week. He was a figure skater, he played ice hockey, and he took every opportunity he had to be on the ice.
For two and a half years, his favourite pastimes have been on hold.
“I am so happy to be back here. When I saw it for the first time today it brought a tear to my eye,” Rocco said.
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Another young skater was celebrating her 12th birthday at Murrayfield on the newly christened ice.
As the girls raced around the ice, they couldn’t have been smiling more.
Scott Neil, who is part of the ice rink ownership team, said the ice had been much busier on Friday than he anticipated. The cafe was full of people all afternoon, and skaters were eagerly waiting to get back on the ice while maintenance machines refinished the rink at 3:30pm.
“This has been a long time coming,” Scott said.
“Everyone has been working really hard to make this happen. There have been a few hiccups along the way as are to be expected, but I’m glad to see people back on the ice now.”
Murrayfield was due to reopen two weeks ago, but Scott said last minute repairs and work pushed back the opening date to Halloween weekend.
Since closing its door two and a half years ago, the team have completely renovated the cafe, and they have installed a brand new light rig and sound system.
“We’ll really notice the difference for light and sound tonight for our first disco,” Scott said.
The team have also repaired or replaced all of the pipes running beneath the 2.5 thick ice. In total, Scott said there are 216 pipes under the rink, and all of them have been cleaned and repaired prior to reopening.
Ross Dalgleish, one of the players for Edinburgh Capitals said he is excited to take to the ice for the Capital’s first game on home ice for three years. On November 6th, the Capitals will be playing against the Aberdeen Lynx at the Murrayfield rink.
“It’s nice to be back, and it’s nice to see a big turnout. Thousands of people have grown up using these facilities, myself included. It’s great to see people able to use it once again,” Ross said.
For Halloween and opening weekend, Murrayfield has plenty of spooktacular events planned.
On Friday, the rink held a ‘break the ice’ opening day from 10am-10pm. On Saturday, the rink has planned a Halloween spooktacular skate from 19:00-22:00. On Sunday, the rink will hold a family friendly Halloween skate from 14:00-17:00 with prizes through the day for best costume and makeup.
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